Category Archives for Internet Services

Everyone is doing now doing almost anything online, as long as the necessary action does not require a physical presence. It is ideal for situations that require an exchange in information, and in the digital age, all information can simply be transferred to the digital format.

Online appointment scheduling can be a benefit to almost any business, including an automotive service and repair business. Automobile owners have become accustomed to having their autos checked periodically. We know that it necessary for proper maintenance and to extend the life of the automobile. The customary way of doing this, is usually to call the automotive service and repair shop, or the location where your vehicle is serviced and book and appointment. You may be fortunate enough to get an appropriate time in which to bring in the vehicle, but many times you may be forced to re-arrange your schedule, without knowing that your vehicle may be unavailable for a certain period.

There is now a way to avoid these inconveniences. Your automotive service and repair shop should have on online appointment and scheduling system. We are now in an age where anyone can be easily connected to the internet. Experts predict that in the coming years, being always online will become a natural part of being alive. Just as we need to continue breathing in air in order to live, we will need to be connected to the internet. The web can now be accessed from anywhere, from boats, planes, trains, autos, and the number of mobile devices that can access the web far exceeds desktop computers. Cheaper prices for bandwidth, and lower prices for electronic products including smartphones and tablets, bring accessibility to everyone. More appliances, and even clothing, will be enabled with access to the web in the very near future.

This means that customers will need fast and easy access to do things like booking appointments for automotive service and repair. The process is simple. You go online and reserve a required time, and get immediate confirmation. You can then re-arrange your other activities with some degree of confidence.

There are multiple benefits in the process, not only for the customer, but also for the business owner, who can then build a very valuable asset of a database of customers. Business owners can fully realize that it can cost up to 8 times as much to obtain new clients than it is to obtain new ones, and with a much valued client database, it can easily be more cost effective to maintain a business with existing customers. These clients can be contacted and notified of special deals or promotions.

It can also be done, by reading Quick Response codes that will re-direct the user to the Online Scheduling application, where the data can be entered. Manual transfer of information which is often accompanied by the opportunity for mistakes is eliminated. The process is secure, as it is now a legal requirement for all sensitive data to be encrypted. The software can even be integrated with your social networking accounts, such as Twitter and Facebook. More businesses of varying sizes are quickly appreciating the benefits that are realized with online scheduling and appointment software.

JasperReports is the world’s most popular open source Java reporting library. It can be easily embedded it into any Java application to deliver sophisticated print or web reporting. For users with more sophisticated report management requirements, reports designed for JasperReports software development can be easily imported into the JasperServer interactive report server. Jasper Reports software development is an open source Java reporting tool that can write to screen, to a printer or into PDF, HTML, Microsoft Excel, RTF, ODT, Comma-separated values and XML files. Jasper reports software development can be used in Java-enabled applications, including Java EE or Web applications, to generate dynamic content. Jasper Reports development generates report in a quick manner and of various formats. This tool allows Java programmers to get reports compiled at runtime means dynamically as well as design time which means statically. Jasper Report software development is the time saving development tool for the developers working behind Java application development.

It has been observed in the software development and IT industry that efforts are sometime go in wrong direction and thus the time amount a work supposed to take is getting higher. By carefully applying appropriate reporting tool and other software package into work, the development activity can be speedup. And Jasper report software development is the best reporting tool available in the market nowadays. Jasper Reports software development is the most powerful reporting tool which enables you to create almost any kind of report imaginable including dashboards, tables, cross-tabs, operational pixel-perfect print-ready layouts, and interactive web reports. Jasper reports developers / consultants / programmers can develop flexible reporting layout. Offshore Jasper Reports development can easily handles the most complex report requirements through its support for subreports. Jasper reports solutions provide flexible output options. Jasper Reports delivers operational information to wherever you need it. Jasper Reports programming services supports an extensive array of chart types through its built-in comprehensive charting capabilities. The size of a generated report by Jasper report software development is limited only by the amount of available disk space, enabling you to report on very large data sets.

Mindfire Solutions is a pioneer in Offshore Jasper Reports application development. We are an Indian software consultant company known for our authoritative capability in offering result-oriented solutions for SMEs across the globe. We can develop and deliver Jasper report Development application under your timeline and budget. We have expertise in delivering different reporting solutions using Jasper Reports meeting our client’s requirements. The services which we offer in Jasper reports development are:

Be it the dedication to serve, be it the exceptional transparent dealings or be it the personalized client centric focus, Mindfire has always shown the passion to create a long lasting business partnership with customers. Mindfire Solutions is a Microsoft Gold certified partner, an Apple developer connection premier member and has business partnerships with big names like IBM, Adobe and others.

If you would like to Outsource your Jasper Reports software development requirements then please Contact Us to work out or call us at 1-248-686-1424. We will be glad to share our expertise with you.

No workplace has escaped the touch of technology, including nursing. Nursing is still, and will always be, a field where technology has had a huge impact on the way that nurses do their job. While some of the technological advances have made the nurse’s job easier, others have been implemented as a price saving measure, and still others are used to improve patient safety.

Like those in other industries, nurses are often reluctant of using new technologies. With the desire to remain within the process they are familiar with, nurses are often unwillingly pulled into newer technologies. Like most others, once they become familiar with new technology, they grow to like it. One side effect of the new technological advancements in healthcare is the increase in jobs related to the field. Before ultrasounds, there was no need for someone trained to perform them. Respiratory therapy, nuclear medicine and many other branches of healthcare have created new jobs by the advancement of technology.

Improvements in medical care

Advancements in technology have lead to improved healthcare and patient care. Before the development of electronic IV monitors and IV pump infusions, anyone who received an IV had it administered under the watchful eye of a nurse. Because manual IVs were susceptible to stopping or flowing too rapidly, a nurse remained by the patient’s side every time they received an IV. When you consider how common IVs are, it is easy to see how much time is saved with the electronic IV monitor.

All nurses are familiar with the sphygmomanometer. This is the technical name for a blood pressure cuff. Having an electronic blood pressure cuff that also records the patient’s heart beat is probably one of the greatest time saving tools that technology has brought to nursing.

Technologies such as ultrasound and sonograms have given the medical community the ability to look inside of the human body and see unborn babies and cancerous tumors. While a nurse does not perform or read the ultrasounds and sonograms, their effect has touched the nursing community by allowing more invasive diagnostic procedures to fall by the wayside.

Improvements in information management

As important as nursing care is for the patient, it is only one part of the nurse’s job. The nurse is responsible for maintaining an accurate record on each patient under her care. While many hospitals continue to use pen and paper charting, technology can make the record keeping process less cumbersome. There are computerized programs available for medication dispensing, hospital occupancy and insurance and payment programs. Patient records can be maintained in a computerized database which allows the physician, nurse or other medical professional to pull up the patient’s medical history in seconds. Portable computing equipment allows the nurse to update the information on the fly, rather than at the end of each shift. Internet access allows medical personnel to have instant access to databases to search for symptoms and drug interactions.

Reducing the risk of mistakes

Computerized drug management software reduces the chances of a patient receiving the wrong drug, or being given two drugs that should not be given together. Portable defibrillators only work when they are needed and properly applied. Many of the improvements in technology are aimed at reducing the risk of errors and mistakes that can lead to injury or death. This not only makes the hospital a safer place for patients, but helps ease the stress nurses and other medical professionals are under.

Technology and the nurse

As the nursing field becomes more specialized, the need for nurses that are comfortable with new technology will only increase. While many of the therapies for disease involve drugs, a growing number include medical devices. Technology is focused on the healthcare industry right now for a variety of reasons. Recent drug interactions of approved drugs have made more healthcare development firms look at device development as a safer and less litigious area of development.

The growing needs for medical care and the shortage of healthcare workers also drive the development of new technology. Innovations that make it possible for a nurse to perform duties more efficiently, or allow them to hand over duties to an aide or administrative personnel increases efficiency and increase the number of patients that can be cared for with the same number of nurses.

The desire to reduce mistakes that can cause harm to the patient also drive the development of technology. Devices that have built in safeguards that prevent misuse are one example of this technology. In many highly computerized hospitals, a patient cannot be dispensed the improper medicine, because the computer checks current medications the patient is currently taking, and the patient’s diagnosis, before allowing the medication to be removed from the pharmacy. If the doctor wants the medicine, he must manually override the system.

While nothing can totally remove the pressure of working as a nurse, many innovative solutions have made the job much more manageable. While the learning curve is often steep, the savings in time and worry are your compensation.

VyprVPN is one of the best lines of defense and ultimate solution when it comes to secure internet browsing. It incorporates all the features of an ideal Virtual Private Network ensuring that your data is safe from security breaches every time it is transferred online.
With the ever rising number of cases of cyber crime being reported, secure internet browsing has become a major concern for most internet frequenters. This is more so especially when one is using vital details such as credit card numbers. If proper precautions are not taken, vital data could end up in the hands of the wrong people leading to dire consequences. It is purposely because of this reason that Golden Frog introduced VyprVPN. VyprVPN is a Virtual Private Network that ensures that your browse online without the risk of security breaches by using data encryption technology. When you are using VyprVPN, your server location information in the final destination is indicated as one of the VyprVPN global points of your choice instead of the original server.
In order to effectively ensure secure browsing, VyprVPN is loaded with several features that include;
– Speed: Golden Frog’s VyprVPN is one of the networks that ensure safe internet browsing through a Virtual Private Network without compromising speed. In order to ensure that speed is maintained, Golden Frog develops its own VPN software, owns the hardware used and controls its own network. By eliminating other parties, they are able to deliver on speed.
– No speed restrictions: VyprVPN has no limits on the speed regardless of the usage and downloads. You can easily switch between unlimited servers and IP addresses without compromising speed or incurring any further costs.
– VyprVPN App: The VyprVPN App is usually a free addition to the VyprVPN account. The app is downloadable and its main role is to ensure that you can switch between different VyprVPN servers in any location in the world and different VPN protocols freely and with just one single click.
– Unlimited security on any device: VyprVPN has no preference on the type of device being used and will avail maximum security to any device. Some of the devices that it secures includes; iPhone, iPad, Mac OS X, Windows 7, Windows XP, Linux, Windows Vista and Android.
– Multiple locations in the world: VyprVPN servers are located in places in the world so that you can choose depending on your preference. The current locations include Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, CA and Austin, TX in the United States, London-UK, Amsterdam-Netherlands, Frankfurt-Germany, Paris-France and Hong Kong-Asia.

There is lots to learn about the Java queue. The taskscheduler is just one small element of this. Let’s look first at the types of queues that exist within Java. First, there is the thread safety. This is necessary for those who don’t want a queue to be accessible from a range of different threads. If this is the case, a LinkedList is the best option to use as a queue. Other implementations, however, offer high efficient thread safety. Then, there is the blocking or non blocking issue. There are a range of implementations for blocking available.
These implementations give an extra method of putting and removing items from a queue. It is possible to block up to the point that the operation is possible. Furthermore, you can put a time limit on this.Next, a Java developer needs to think about issues around the advanced queue. For instance, is it bound or non bound? It can be very beneficial to place an upper limit on the amount of items that can be placed within the queue. By doing so, a thread pool won’t queue up an unmanageable number of jobs whenever a machine in busy. There are a number of other special operations too. For instance, Java can give an implementation to make it possible to sort by priority. Other implementations are in place to place a delay on any item that is in the queue.
So why should you use a Java queue? After all, since it has a number of restrictions on it, it sounds more logical to use something such as LinkedList1 or ArrayList. Sure, they are boring and old, but they work just fine right? There are actually three main reasons as to why you should use this type of queue. First of all, a queue can provide the exact concept of what you actually want. Secondly, a queue prevents random access. This means that it is possible to optimize it for concurrency. Last but not least, Java offers the BlockingQueue. By using this, a number of the implementations are able to take some of the manual work away from the most commonly used queues.You may wonder where we could need a queue or a taskscheduler on a conceptual manner. If there is a producer to consumer pattern, this is where you need to think about it.
A producer to consumer pattern is found when a thread makes or produces a whole list of tasks or jobs. A second thread then picks these up. Yes, it is possible to use a boring and old LinkedList, so long as it is synchronized, but this is only the case if that would be all that we wanted to do with the jobs. If access is restricted to both the beginning and end (head and tail) of a queue, it makes it possible for the queue to optimize for any concurrent access.One of the best places to use an advanced queue is within a thread pool’s work queue. Java offers the ThreadPoolExecutor class.
Once a developer constructs this specific class, it is possible for that queue to pass within the thread pool that should be used. It is also possible to design a thread pool that has a utility method that is offered by the Executors class. In this case, a BlockingQueue (set up as default) is the best version to use.

Do you know what runs your favorite websites like Facebook, WordPress and Digg? Well, these are only a few of the over 20 million websites that owe allegiance to PHP – one of the most widely used open-source server-side scripting languages. And PHP developers who swear by its user-friendliness offer you many good reasons to believe why PHP is preferred over other server-side scripting languages, such as Python and Ruby.
PHP, besides being faster and easier-to-use; comes with detailed documentation, well-supported frameworks, several ready-to-use scripts, and a huge community of enthusiastic PHP developers. Here in this article we will be discussing the essential PHP developmental tool that will help improve your programming workflow.
Debugging Tools
Debugging tools should essentially be installed on the development server of every PHP development company as they help break down their code, stop execution, scrutinize the environment at any point; and identify problems. So of the most popular and efficient debugger or debugging tool for PHP are: Xdebug, Webgrind, DBG, PHP_Debug, GubedPHP Debugger, PHP_Dyn, etc. to name a few.
Frameworks for PHP
Frameworks are undeniably the most important tool ever PHP developer would like to have in his toolbox; and the type of framework you choose largely depends around the type of projects you work and on your style. Broadly speaking, while the first type of frameworks is a CMS, the second type is a more generic programming framework and as a PHP developer you need to make an informed choice as to what suits your requirement and proficiency the best.
The most common PHP frameworks are CakePHP, CodeIgniter, symfony, ZendFramework, Yii Framework, NetBeans, Propel, PEAR, Dwoo, Qcodo, Smarty, SAJAX, PHPSpec, etc.
Testing and Optimization tool
Testing and optimization tools are a great asset to have in the development process. Some of the popular testing and optimization tools are PHP Unit, Simple Test, Selenium, PHP_CodeSniffer, PHP Profile Class, etc.
Documentation Tools
Documentation tools enables you to search titles from all PHP documentation pages. Some of the most preferred PHP documentation tools are phpDocumentor and PHP DOX, which is an AJAX-powered PHP documentation search engine.
PHP Code-Beautifier
These PHP tools saves you from hours of reformatting code to suit your own way of presenting it. Some of the most in-demand PHP Code Beautifier tools are GeSHi – Generic Syntax Highlighter (supports a wide range of popular languages, where developers can easily add new languages for highlighting and easily defining customizable output formats), PHP_Beautifier, and PHPCodeBeautifier.
Image Manipulation and Graphs
These tools enables you to create attractive Web charts and graphs from dynamic data. Some of the powerful PHP tools for image manipulation and graphs are WideImage, pChart, PHP/SWF Charts, MagickWand for PHP to name a few. These tools help you to quickly incorporate image-editing features in your PHP applications.
Security Tools
These are essential PHP tools that helps system administrators track vulnerability findings, list possible vulnerable points in the program, and respond. Some of the popular PHP security tools are Securimage, Scavenger, PHP-IDS, and Pixy: PHP Security Scanner, etc.
PHP Online Tools and Resources
Some of the most common PHP online tools and resources are Minify (a PHP 5 app that can combine multiple CSS or JavaScript files), PHP Object Generator (helps quickly construct PHP objects and leverage object-oriented programming principles in your code), Koders (a search engine for open-source and downloadable code) and PECL (a directory of all known PHP extensions and a hosting facility for downloading and developing PHP extensions).
Version Control Systems
These tools are an asset for organizing and maintaining different dimensions of your project. Some of the most preferred PHP development tools for version control systems are Phing, xinc and Subversion, etc.
In-browser Tools (Firefox Add-ons)
These on-browser PHP tools are an asset for PHP developers that includes ‘built-in search bar’ like PHP Lookup, which help you quickly look up references to PHP syntax; FirePHP – a Firefox extension that allows you to log data in Firebug, PHP Manual Search (a useful search bar that searches official PHP documentation from within your Web browser) and phpLangEditor (a Firefox add-on tool for translating language files and variables in your script.
PHP IDEs and Editors
PHP editor/IDE are excellent PHP development tools very intuitive user interface and useful features. Some of the popular PHP IDE/Editors are PhpED (robust and feature-packed IDE for Windows users), PHP Eclipse (PHP source-code editor that runs on all the major operating systems), Zend Studio (PHP IDE for Eclipse), PHPEdit and PHPDesigner to name a few.
Useful Extensions, Utilities and Classes
Some of the useful extensions, utilities and classes that make for great PHP tool are SimplePie (a class that helps you work with RSS feeds), HTML Purifier (open source and highly customizable tool that helps remove all malicious code – XSS, htmlSQL (a PHP class for querying HTML values in an SQL-like syntax), Creole, PHPLinq, PHPMyAdmin, PHPExcel, amongst many.
Have you been using these tools in your PHP development process?

When you hate studying online, your course seems to last forever.
It’s a million times harder to find the motivation to keep going.
It’s a lot easier to just turn on the TV, and put off doing any reading for another day (or week).
So if you hate studying online what can you do?
There are ways to make the experience less painful. Which of these scenarios describes you?
1. You hate studying online, but you still like the subject of your course
Let’s say you’ve always wanted to learn about website design. So because you work full-time, you enrolled in an e-learning course.
But you find working through the modules without face-to-face guidance really hard.
It’s killing your love of the subject.
Try this: Switch your focus away from the learning method and onto the subject of your course.
Ask yourself: are you actually learning something useful about your topic? If so, can you put up with some irritations to learn cool new information? Is it a fair trade-off?
2. You hate studying online, but you had a good reason for enrolling
Maybe the course will prove to your boss you’re serious about professional development.
It might help you change jobs, or get promoted. It could even be a stepping stone to another course and a whole new qualification.
But in the meantime, the online learning experience is just not what you’d hoped.
Try this: Take a moment to remember why you’re learning online.
What’s your goal? What’s in this for you?
If you really want to get to the destination, can you endure a bumpy bus ride over some annoying potholes to get there?
3. You hate studying online, but you can’t make it to a campus
Maybe you just prefer traditional learning, with lectures, and face-to-face contact with other students.
But if you don’t want to move cities or give up your job, e-learning becomes your best option for further study. It comes down to what’s practical.
Try this: Think about the options that e-learning is giving you.
If you didn’t study online, what would you do?
You might not be able to study at all – that would mean fewer options for your personal or professional life.
It might even make getting a qualification or expanding your knowledge impossible!
So e-learning might not be ideal, but is it better than nothing?
If you really hate studying online, that probably won’t change overnight. But it can really help to remember why you’re doing it, and what you’ll gain.
Because the course will eventually end – and when it does, you’ll have a useful qualification or valuable new knowledge. And then, it’ll suddenly all seem worthwhile.

If you use blog commenting as a part of your backlinking strategies, then you’ve probably considered purchasing Blog Comment Demon. Read this first! We recently started using Article Demon, Social Bookmarking Demon, and Blog Comment Demon in my office. And while the first two work well enough that I’d recommend them to pretty much anyone, Blog Comment Demon has serious issues that you should consider before you buy. I’ll go over the positives first:
1.) The ability to scan for approved comments is awesome
2.) The ability to export URLs and reports is great
3.) Software is well organized and interface is user-friendly
But that’s where the high points of BCD stopped for us, and even those were flawed. For instance, we’re not 100% certain that the Scan for Comments feature works 100% of the time, you can only export in one format, and just because the software is organized and presented well doesn’t mean much if it doesn’t function. In any case, there are much more major concerns about BCD.
1.) The Drill feature (to find related posts on the same blog/site) does not work. Period. Not once has it ever worked.
2.) It takes a VERY long time to return the blog results- usually about 15 minutes just to return 100 blogs.
3.) The blogs returned are a poor mix at best, with a great deal of blogs being returned that have NOTHING to do with your search phrase. For instance, yesterday afternoon during tests we used the keywords: “How to get help for drug addiction.” Blogs returned included travel sites, religious sites, and a bunch of garbage that had nothing to do with the keyword.
4.) Of every 100 blogs returned for the multitude of keywords we have used over the past week, significantly less than 5% are Do Follow, Allow Comments, aren’t already spammed, and have at least one comment already. Of those that are viable, most are PR 0.
5.) The auto-fill form has serious flaws. If it works at all, it usually does not auto fill at least one line, typically the email address, website URL, or some other single-field. A great deal of the time the auto fill does not work at all, and you must cut and paste from it and manually put it in the blog comment section. This is VERY ineffective.
6.) So many of the blogs returned are with either NoFollow or Unknown tags that it makes it almost impossible to use the software effectively.
There’s more, but I don’t want to bash the software completely, as I think Article Demon and Social Bookmarking Demon are AWESOME. However, Blog Comment Demon just doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do: get Do Follow backlinks effectively and quickly using automated procedures. We spent more time babysitting and trouble-shooting this software than getting links. We should have just outsourced our blog commenting: we would have saved serious money considering the amount of time it took us to do this ourselves using BCD.
Because BCD was so terrible, I assumed it must be because I “didn’t know how to use it.” However, I read the ENTIRE guide. Twice. So did three of my staff. Not to mention that like I said earlier, the software is well-presented and is pretty easy to figure out, so it’s not hard. But assuming that I was lacking something, I did extensive research online and found that most people are having the same problems and more.
Some reviews we found were glowing and highly recommended the software. However, upon further examination most good reviews were actually just IMs trying to get you to their affiliate link. No problem there, I paid for all three of my products through an affiliate link. And while I don’t discount those reviews (meaning maybe BCD works for some people and not others) I really put this software through the ringer and it simply did not perform. And while no one wants to gamble, you can do just that if you want to try it for yourself, because you can easily get a full refund if you request it within 28 days of purchase.
Summary? Article Demon Good. Social Bookmarking Demon Good. Blog Comment Demon Bad.
I hope this helps. I’m not trying to be a naysayer; I’m just giving my honest review of this product in the hopes of helping other people make more informed buying decisions. And in actuality, this review will help the software maker because they won’t be issuing so many refunds. (BCD has a very high incidence of refund requests. However, most reports state that when a refund is requested, the money is usually returned almost immediately.)
My honest opinion is that this software is great in theory and has AMAZING potential, but it needs some serious work by the developers before it could be a viable product for people like me who “play” in a great variety of niche markets. From here on out, we’re doing our own article submissions, our own social media commenting, and we’ll continue to do our own high quality, manual blog-commenting.
Click here now for professional blog commenting services:

One of the possible vulnerabilities of a Joomla website is the ability for a hacker to gain access to the administrator directory. A good way to help protect your site from getting hacked is to add username and password protection to your administrator directory. By adding this layer of security you will be prompted for a username and password TWICE when you try to access your admin area. The first prompt will be from the server requesting permission to access the administrator directory, and the second prompt will be from Joomla itself when you try and access the admin area directly. NOTE: The method described here will only work on a Unix/Linux server running Apache software. If you do not know what this means, contact your IT department or your internet service provider.

Before we go on, I am assuming that you already have a copy of Joomla installed and know how to access the administrator area and are familiar with it. Additionally, you should be familiar with cPanel and know how to access it as well.

The first thing you will do is to think of and then create a Username/Password combination and then put a copy of it in a safe place. DO NOT make this the same as the regular Username/Password combination that you use to gain access to the administrator area, that would defeat the purpose of this security modification. The more difficult the password combination is to remember, the less likely it can be figured out by someone. Don’t use birth dates, maiden names, or combinations that you use on other sites.

Next, log onto your website’s cPanel and look for the “Security” panel, then, locate the “Password Protect Directories” icon and click on it. You will want to choose the “Document Root” for the domain and then locate the “administrator” directory.

Now click on “Password protect this directory” and give the protected area a name. This name can be anything, but be advised that it will show up in the security window that pops up requesting the Username/Password combination. I usually choose the name “Protected Area”. Enter the username and password you chose earlier and click “add.modify”.

Now your administrator area will be password protected. To verify this, restart your browser and try to log on to the administrator area as you would normally do. You should be prompted for the Username/Password combination with the name of the protected area that you entered in cPanel. Once you have successfully entered the combination, you should then have access to the administrator area where you will have to enter your normal Username/Password combination.

The vacations in Hawaii, visiting Disney, big houses, or expensive cars aren’t really the things single moms need and miss out on. Yeah, they would be nice, but there are more important things…small things…we want and don’t realize we don’t get until it is right at that exact moment in time.

My son, B, turned two this past week, and we celebrated his birthday party with family. I spent the day before and the day off preparing for the party, making sure everything was lined up and organized. Everyone arrived on time, and we started the games.

After the games, we created our own homemade French bread pizzas. I read a variety of different ways to make them online, and chose the one I thought sounded and looked the most scrumptious. For each bread, I pressed on with a cookie sheet (so the edges wouldn’t curl up) and bake for a few minutes before the toppings were added so the sauce wouldn’t soak into the bread and make it soggy. Then I kept an eye on the pizzas cooking so they wouldn’t overcook. I didn’t realize when I planned this activity how much time and focus it would take of me.

I was the last one to make and cook her pizza. By the time I got mine, everyone else was finished. I put my pizza down to clean B up, and when I went back to it, someone had thrown it away. Then, I put candles on the cake and as I walked to B, asked if someone would take his picture, the first one of the night. Since we had pushed the kitchen table to the corner for a game, I knelt on my knees to B for him to blow them out. I made the specialty cake slices (cake, ice cream, cake, hot fudge, and whip cream) for everyone and soon after I got mine, they were ready to open gifts.

As I tried to take my first picture of B of the night, opening presents, he stood there watching his two same aged cousins opening his gifts. I said, “B open it.” He stood there staring until his Aunt told her I daughter to let B do it.

Then I asked someone to take a picture of B and me, and my mom suggested it become a nieces, nephew, B, and me picture, which is great, but then I never got a single picture of B and me. After everyone left, I was exhausted. I was drained. I was tried and didn’t even really get to enjoy the party. I was going, going, going, doing, doing, doing. I sat down for two minutes once when B and I ate cake together, which was the most precious moment to me.

Whether it’s a party, a sporting event, or a holiday, take time to really enjoy it. These are the things single moms need and miss out on. It’s not the giant, big, spectacular things, even though those would be great too, but it’s the small, intimate times.

We miss enjoying it. We miss taking pictures or being in the pictures with our kids. We miss those unforgettable moments. We don’t have someone else saying, “How can I help you,” or offering to take a picture. We must remember that plus everything else we are doing.

Give yourself permission to enjoy the moments. You can clean, do dishes, or reorganize the place later. Let go of the control freak in you. Let Ms. Perfectionist leave for the day. Relax, laugh, spend time with your kids, and have fun. After all, isn’t that what life is about anyways?!